could it be?????

It's noon, and it's 60 degrees outside. This is the first hint of fall weather we've had...as it has continued to be near 90 every day since that first day about 2 and a half weeks ago when we saw our last 100 degree day.

Gawd. At least others around here with whom I work have stated that this summer was very unusually hot, and that the heat lasted an unusually long time.

This gives me vague hope.

My geranium is doomed. As I have said before, I will try again next year, and move it INSIDE in MAY before it's burnt to a crisp.

Going out today to get some mums. Did that last fall, and they stayed green and blooming until almost Christmas.

We went out to Red Rock Canyon state park last evening for a late hike, supper picnick, and some hoped for star gazing, far from city lights.

Two out of the three went great....but the clouds gathered, and covered up the HUGE rising moon, and all of the stars.

Oh well.

I DID see my first Sand Hill Crane since moving! He was walking in a harvested field, looking for fallen grain.
They do usually start their southward migration around the autumnal equinox, so it makes sense.

And, we were about an hour west of the city, out in the open lands, and that's where they are reported to fly over.

Maybe there will be more sightings....I sure hope so. That's something I miss with my whole heart.

In other news, Dave came back from his week away with some scary news. He had spent the entire week away from me smoking cigarettes.

To me, after my months of working so hard to get him healthy, it felt like a betrayal.

He quit Sept. 1, 2009, in anticipation of my move, because I have always said, and STILL say, that I will NOT live with a smoker.

Period.

So, we had some tough discussions...like "Do you remember the FIRST THING the cardiologist asked you when he met you for the first time, in the hospital, the morning of your heart attack?"

(the first words out of the doctor's mouth, AFTER he shook Dave's hand and said "You are far too young to be lying here," were "How long have you been a smoker?")

Anyway, without going into too much further detail, we've had our first really rough "rough patch," and we came through it okay.

Dave announced yesterday that he has not craved a cigarette ONCE since returning home from his cheating foray.

Before he went on this binge, he said he was craving smokes EVERY day for the year since he quit.

Now, it seems to be out of his system.

In OTHER other news, we have been exploring the speculative possibility of buying a house next year. Real estate here is disgustingly affordable.

It could happen, EVEN WITH my already having an absurdly high mortgage payment for the condo back home.

Fingers crossed!

(Oh, and p.s.--I turned my existing neck support pillow the other way round, to the bigger side, and my neck pain went away!---but I may bite the bullet some day, when I can justify the expense, and get the $100 pillow!)

What a pain in the...

Dave was gone all this past week to Pennsylvania, for work.

It was weird to be here alone all week. To go to the gym alone. To eat dinner alone. To go to bed and wake up alone.

It was very, very familiar, since I have spent the greater portion of my adult life alone....but at the same time, because I am still not totally at home in this place, it was unfamiliar. Dave was not 10 minutes away at the hospital this time...he was a very, very long way away.

My feeling out of place here is getting better, though.

This past week, my chili recipe was voted in as the chili cook-off contender for my department at work. So that was kinda cool, and it made me feel "included."

Team Paula chili didn't win, though, and I made it the best batch ever...oh well. It has veggies in it. Okies are not familiar with veggies, so it seems.

Dave came back from his trip with a horrible cold. I keep telling him he'd better not give it to me. The last thing I need right now is to get sick.

I've been having horrendous neck pain for a week now. Saw the chiropractor on Thursday, but it didn't really help.

Went shopping today for a new pillow, but the only one I could find that was different from the one I already have was literally a hundred dollars.

Yes. A hundred dollars for a freakin' contoured, neck support pillow. SO, I did not replace my pillow.

When Dave and I were doing errands last weekend, out in the 40 mile per hour (this is typical) wind, I flipped my head to get my hair OUT of my face so I could see traffic in a parking lot.
I usually put my hair in a pony tail when we go out because of the constant wind, but I didn't have it pulled back at that moment.

Anyway, when I flipped my head, something snapped, and that was when the pain started. So a new pillow probably would not have helped anyway...but I was desperate.

I've been taking lots of ibuprofin, doing lots of self massage, and, since Dave got home, he's been helping too.

I think another visit to the chiropractor may have to happen this week...Groan.

Disappointing

Our two weeks of deprivation were supremely disappointing. Dave did not lose his belly. Not even a little of it.

The South Beach Diet books state that one should expect to lose 8 to 13 pounds during phase 1. Belly fat goes first.

But US?? Dave lost a grand total of 3 pounds. It was 5 after the first week, but he gained 2 back during the second week.

I lost a grand total of 4. Lost 3 the first week, 2 the week before that preparing myself...and gained one back last week.

We did not make it to the gym last week, though, which is probably a large contributing factor. Monday was a holiday, and I could not entice Dave to go.
Wednesday, it was pouring down rain, and Friday was our day to leave work early and go out to the Choctaw Oktoberfest.

So---no more phase 1. Even with the disappointing results, we are going to phase 2 now.
It's less strict, and is designed for slower, healthy weight loss.

It's basically how I have eaten for the past few years. The things I have changed out of necessity are adding more pasta and rice. Pasta and rice are inexpensive ways to stretch meals, but too much, even the whole grain variety, which is what I always use, is too much...

When I was living alone, my economics were pretty restrictive, and, thus, I got into some dollar stretching habits that were NOT totally south beach diet.

SO...now that I live in a two income household, and we can, SOME weeks, afford decent groceries, I will try to go back to sticking to the south beach recipes as written.

That should help some.

My 4 pounds DID make it so that I could fit into a pair of my fall/winter pants. So that mission, at the least, was partially accomplished. I'd still rather they be comfortable, and not feel tight. So, that's the next mission...and, since it's only September, I have time.

What the....

I give up trying to keep track....I weighed in this morning, and I was down 4 pounds from yesterday. Whatever.

At least it appears that I did NOT actually gain all 5 pounds back over the weekend!

Three days

Hope everyone has had a nice holiday weekend. It's been SO nice to be off work for 3 days!

We took a great bike ride on Saturday morning, because it was SOOO nice out, but then the heat returned, and the wind came, so we have basically stayed in for the past 2 days.

Did a LOT of cleaning and laundry yesterday. Cooking today.

The good news is that the South Beach Phase One diet succeeded in dropping 5 pounds off of each of us in the first week.

The bad news? I gained all 5 pounds that I had lost BACK in a mere 2 days, from very minor deviations from the Phase One "no carbs" plan.

Holy shit! I had 2 tortillas, some wine, a slice of bread, and some pizza crust over the course of those days, and gained it ALL BACK.

What. The. Feck???

So, as of tonight, we are back on the diet. We'll see what happens.

Not wanting to go back to work, but looking forward to taking my two free hours off (for being employee of the month) at the end of the day Friday.

Have a good rest of the week!